UK visa and immigration price increases: Starting October 4, 2023

The UK government has announced significant changes to visa fees, which came into effect from October 4, 2023. These adjustments  impact various categories of visas, including those for workers, students, visitors and more.

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By how much UK immigration prices have risen

Visa price increases 🛂

Prices to UK visas have increased form anywhere between 15% and 35%.

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Immigration Healthcare Surcharge (IHS) price increases 🏥

The price of the immigration health surcharge (IHS) has increased by 64%.

• The lower visa tier of the IHS has increased from £470 per year to £776 per year
• The higher visa tier of the IHS has increased from £624 per year to £1,035 per year

Anyone moving to the UK on a visa (excluding the Health and Care Worker visa) must pay the IHS fee to cover every year of their visa.

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Why immigration prices have increased

The increase in UK visa prices is attributed to various factors, including inflation, administrative costs, and changes in government policy. Under pressure to pay UK public servants more, the Conservative UK Government has chosen to increase immigration prices to cover the pay rise of public servants.

When announcing the price increases, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, “The first is we’re going to increase the charges that we have for migrants who are coming to this country when they apply for visas. And indeed, something called the Immigration Health Surcharge, which is the levy that they pay to access the NHS. So all of those fees are going to go up and that will raise over a billion pounds.”

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Popular UK visas impacted

All UK visas have been affected by price increases including these popular visas.

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Youth Mobility visa ⚡️

• Previous fee: £259
• New fee (from October 4, 2023): £298
• Fee change: £39
• Fee % increase: 15%

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UK Ancestry visa 🇬🇧

• Previous fee: £531
• New fee (from October 4, 2023): £637
• Fee change: £106
• Fee % increase: 20%

Skilled Worker visa (3 years of less) 💻

• Previous fee: £625
• New fee (from October 4, 2023): £719
• Fee change: £94
• Fee % increase: 15%

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Skilled Worker visa (more than 3 years) 💻

• Previous fee: £1,235
• New fee (from October 4, 2023): £1,420
• Fee change: £185
• Fee % increase: 15%

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Student visa ‍🎓

• Current Fee: £363
• New Fee (from October 4, 2023): £490
• Fee Change: £127
• Fee % increase: 35%

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High Potential Individual visa 🌟

• Current Fee: £715
• New Fee (from October 4, 2023): £822
• Fee Change: £107
• Fee % increase: 15%

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India Young Professional visa 🇮🇳

• Current Fee: £259
• New Fee (from October 4, 2023): £298
• Fee Change: £39
• Fee % increase: 15%

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For a comprehensive list of all fee changes, you can visit the official UK government website.